The centerpiece of “Cornerstones for Living: The Crossroads Campaign” is the construction of a 12-bed inpatient care facility overlooking the St. Joseph River. “Since most all of CHC’s patients reside in their own homes, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities, we believe this new inpatient center will improve our ability to meet the needs of patients whose symptoms cannot fully be addressed in that setting,” said Mark Murray, CHC President / CEO.
“Half of all deaths in America are now under hospice care and that’s increasing each year. At CHC, 25% of the 33,000 patients we’ve cared for over 36 years were seen in just the last four years alone. When you consider the first of the 76 million baby boomers began signing up for Medicare seven years ago, the need for hospice care will only escalate dramatically over the next 20 years. This ‘Crossroads’ campaign is all about CHC putting the infrastructure in place today to meet this need of our communities tomorrow,” said Murray.
Many of the campaign goals have been met, but the Hospice House remains an underfunded priority, requiring an additional $2 million. Construction costs continue to rise and we hope to break ground soon,
In 1980, we made a promise that no person eligible for hospice services would be turned away due to an inability to pay for those services. With the generous support of the communities it serves, we’ve been able to keep that promise.
The high number of patients choosing CHC means that over time an increasing number of survivors have sought support through the organization’s many grief counseling and bereavement services, which are free and open to the public – regardless of whether their loved one was the recipient of hospice care. CHC’s specialty programs, including Camp Evergreen, an annual camp for children who have experienced the loss of a loved one, and After Images, a popular and innovative art counseling program, are also available to the public and are part of the campaign’s endowment goal.